Police use Taser on burglary suspect

Jeremiah Dobruck

Costa Mesa police chased down and used a stun gun to subdue a 19-year-old earlier this week after he was allegedly interrupted during a break-in.

Dmitriy Rozhik of Costa Mesa is accused of opening an unlocked sliding-glass door to get into a Mesa Verde apartment while a family of four was sleeping inside, according to a Costa Mesa Police Department news release.

On Tuesday, Rozhik pleaded not guilty to felony first-degree burglary and a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest, according to court records. He is being held on $50,000 bail.

About 4:30 a.m. Monday, the father in the apartment woke up and found someone standing in a bedroom doorway, police said. When the father yelled, the person fled.

Police responded to the apartment at 2775 Mesa Verde Drive East and took a description of the intruder.

An officer quickly spotted Rozhik near the apartment complex, but he escaped by running through a small pond, police said.

With the help of an Orange County Sheriff's Department helicopter, Costa Mesa police set up a perimeter and found Rozhik.

As he struggled to get away, officers used a Taser to subdue him, the news release said.

Rozhik still had some of the stolen items from the apartment on him, and the victims identified him as the burglar, according to the CMPD.

Detectives and crime-scene investigators are looking for evidence that could tie him to more area crimes.

A resident in a neighboring apartment building said a man tried to enter his home through an unlocked door before being scared off, and items were stolen from several cars in a nearby block around the time Rozhik is said to have been in the area, according to police.

Anyone with information about these or similar crimes is asked to call detectives at (714) 754-5205.